I Thought You'd Be Taller
by Anna575
Summary: One-shot. The Avengers go to meet Percy Jackson, and the way he is certainly surprises them.


**A/N: This little one-shot was based off a challenge the amazing mythologyrox gave me. Here it is: "The first thing Thor wants to do after everything has calmed down is meet the legendary Greek demigod hero, Percy Jackson. Tony manages to track Percy down, and the Avengers meet the son of Poseidon, but he isn't what they thought he would be like."**

**So. I hope you enjoy! I tried to do it justice…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers.**

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I Thought You'd Be Taller

"But Man of Iron," Thor protests, "it is the perfect time. You are not busy, and the team is not busy either. Please? I promise it will not be something you regret."

Alright, so Tony is very tempted to give Thor what he wants just to shut him up. He'd been asking for days to go see this kid, who had apparently fought in some war. He's half human and half god, which actually doesn't surprise him as much as it should. Tony would say sure if a) he was sure he wasn't going to get a restraining order for being a stalker and b) the kid's files weren't restricted in SHIELD files. Okay, so the last one really doesn't bother him, but Fury says that if he hacks one more file, he's going to be in so much trouble.

Tony sighs and rubs his face with the hand that isn't covered in grease and oil. "I just don't know, buddy. Why do you want to meet him so bad anyway?" As far as Tony knows, it was just some lame kid who knows how to fight monsters that hide under little kids' beds or something.

"I have a very strong feeling that you will like him," Thor insists. "Just try it, Friend Stark."

Tony sighs. He knows he will eventually have to give in. He can't stand when Thor gives him the why-would-you-spit-on-puppies-daily look. Frankly, he doesn't think anyone could withstand that. Even Natasha caves after a while. "How about I hack his file and read a little about him. Then we'll see, okay?"

"You will not regret this Man of Iron," Thor beams. Okay, so yeah, that kind of makes up for it since he doesn't feel like the biggest jerk in the world anymore for not letting a god meet this half god kid whom he is apparently just _dying _to see.

Tony sighs again and got up. Might as well start hacking now. SHIELD got new firewalls and while they may take a little longer to access, they're still very easy to hack. He walks over to his computer and sits down in his swivel chair. Tony rubs his hands together and gets to work.

Ten minutes later, he's in. He types in "Percy Jackson" into the search bar. His file pops up, and Tony clicks on it.

Tony whistles under his breath, eyes wide. "Geez, kid. Ain't you special?" This kid had blown up a school bus, dumped his class into an aquarium, and blown up the Saint Louis Arch. And that was just the beginning. This kid was literally shrouded in mystery. He even went missing without a trace for about eight months, and then just randomly appears later. No questions asked, just there.

Maybe Tony should check this kid out, just because. Thor has a point: the team doesn't have anything going right now. If they don't do it now, it will definitely take the back burner when something serious inevitably shows up. Seriously, villains these days. Can't give the good guys a break. Tony shakes his head sadly, then decides he might as well tell Thor the plan is a go.

But first things first: address. Where does a half god slash half human kid live, anyway? Tony wonders. Manhattan, apparently. Tony scribbles the address and school the kid goes to down on a piece of paper and goes off to find Thor.

Tony finds him eating a poptart. As soon as Tony enters the room, though, Thor immediately drops the poptart back on the plate. "Well?" Thor asks hopefully with those killer puppy dog eyes. _Where in the world did he learn to do that?_ Tony asks himself absentmindedly_. I should learn that for when Pepper won't let me get her a giant stuffed animal. _

"Good news, Point Break. I found his address." Tony waves the slip of paper around, and Thor snatches it. He looks at it, realizes he doesn't even know where that is, and hands it back to Tony abashedly.

"So we can go talk to him?" Thor asks.

Tony rolls his eyes heavenward. "God help me, but yes. We are. He should be getting out of school in an hour, so we can meet him on his way home. Let's go get the others."

Tony would swear Thor scrambles out of his seat if gods didn't scramble.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't feel comfortable stalking a kid," Clint says, breaking the silence. They're standing near an alley, which is on Percy's way home from Goode High School—what kind of name is that for a high school? It sounds like torture if the cheery slogan is anything to go by.

"Thor wants to meet him, and I worked hard to find this kid, so we're meeting him," Tony says.

Bruce adjusts his glasses, a nervous tic that Tony notices he has. "What if this kid makes a big deal and freaks out because we stalked him or something?"

Thor shakes his head confidently. "He will not do that. He is very careful after fighting in two wars. He will not fight unless he knows we are a threat. He will just be very wary."

That stops Tony in his tracks because he thought he just heard that this kid, this teenager, has fought in _two wars. _What has the world come to when it has teenagers fighting wars? Shouldn't they be on their phone all day like all the other normal teenagers? That thought is enough to make Tony feel a little sympathy for the kid. Poor kid had probably had a pretty tough life.

"Alright, I'll see you later!" A kid calls to his friend over his shoulder. He has black hair messily windswept and sea green eyes that sparkle like he's always laughing. His skin is tan, like he spends his time surfing. Tony knows that this is Percy instantly. It seems like there's an aura of power surrounding him, and he holds himself with a quiet confidence.

"There he is!" Thor exclaims.

Tony shushes him and says, "Be quiet! You're going to scare the kid off, and I will _not _find him twice for you."

"He's walking this way pretty quickly," Clint warns. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm pretty sure 'hey, we were just in the neighborhood and we thought we'd stop by to see you. Oh, and we know a lot of your life history,' isn't going to cut it," Bruce mutters.

Tony closes his eyes for a moment so he doesn't say something sardonic like he usually does. "We're just going to have to wing it."

Natasha snorts delicately. "That's going to turn out well."

"If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," Tony says snarkily at her.

"Shut up," Steve whisper-shouts. "He's right there."

Percy Jackson walks around the corner and instantly freezes. His eyes start scanning the area, darting everywhere at once. He pulls out a pen and bends his knees a little in what looks like a relaxed defensive position.

Thor immediately walks out in the open before any of the team can stop him. Tony groans internally. This definitely wasn't a good idea. They should have thought this over more. What if the kid gets scared and flips out like Bruce says? What do they do then? Thor interrupts his thought process by greeting the kid.

"Hello, Perseus Jackson. It's an honor to finally get to meet you," Thor says, smiling. The rest of the team reluctantly walks out and stands behind Thor.

"I thought he'd be taller," Tony mumbles to himself. Judging by the way Percy's eyes flicker his way, Tony knows he heard at least part of what he's said. Great, Tony thinks sarcastically.

Percy brings the pen he's holding a little higher, and Tony frowns. Does this kid seriously think a pen is going to protect him? Unless he's trained so good that he knows how to defend himself with only a pen. Tony isn't sure which options freaks him out the most.

"How do you know me?" Percy Jackson says evenly. Tony sees his muscles coil together like he's about to attack and decides to do some damage control.

"We looked you up. But it's a long story because Thor here," Tony jabs a finger at Thor, "knew who you were already from the stories he's heard about you."

Percy frowns. "Stories? There's stories about me?" The kid still doesn't relax, but he does lower his pen slightly, so Tony counts that as a win.

"Apparently," Tony tells him.

This seems to surprise the teen, because he drops his pen all the way down to his side. He wrinkles his nose like he's trying to figure out why people would want to tell stories about _him, _and then meets their eyes again. "Usually when people know my real name, they're either monsters or gods," Percy says thoughtfully.

"Well, only Thor is the god, and the rest of us aren't monsters," Tony assures him.

Percy raises his eyebrows. "So who are you?" It's nice that someone doesn't know who they are, actually, Tony thinks to himself.

"The Avengers," Steve says.

"The Avengers?" Percy echoes in disbelief. "Why are you stalking me?" Percy instantly shuts his mouth after that, like he didn't mean to say that. Tony finds himself smiling. "Oh, gods, sorry, I didn't mean to say that," Percy says in a rush. He completely relaxes his defensive crouch and straightens.

"It's fine," Clint says.

"Let's try this again," Percy mutters to himself. "Why did you guys want to . . . see me? Am I in trouble?" Percy doesn't exactly look afraid at this prospect; he actually looks vaguely irritated and exasperated.

"No," Thor answers. "I just wanted to meet you."

"He's a huge fan of yours," Tony chimes in.

Percy looks surprised again. "You—what?" Percy says like he can't process what's happening.

"Your stories are among the favorites to tell in Asgard," Thor informs him. "Your adventures and bravery need not be exaggerated in our halls because they do not need improving."

"Seriously?" Percy says, stunned.

"Wow," Bruce says, impressed. "You must be good, kid."

"Uh, w-well I don't know about that," Percy stutters.

"He's also very modest," Thor mentions to the team. Percy blushes crimson.

"I'm really not," Percy protests. "I just couldn't have done what I did without my friends' help."

Natasha actually permits herself a small smile at this. Tony thinks about giving this kid a medal because not just anyone can get Natasha to smile. Especially not a stranger.

"So, um, you guys are the Avengers," Percy says, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "That must be . . . interesting."

They all chuckle. "Got that right, kid," Steve says.

Percy hesitates on the next thing he wants to say. "You were frozen in ice, right?" he asks Steve timidly.

Steve takes a moment to answer, and Percy takes it the wrong way. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. It's not my business. Sorry, I just blurted it out and—" Percy's rambling, and Steve puts him out of his misery, thankfully.

"No, it's okay. And yeah I was," Steve says kindly, not taking offense.

Percy nods. "That sucks," he says with vehemence. "I've got a few friends who aren't from this time. It must have been overwhelming," he says.

Tony and the others are stunned into silence. They weren't expecting that kind of answer. A_ that's cool _or _wow you're so lucky _is more what the team is used to hearing.

"Yeah," Steve finally says. "It was."

Percy just nods, like he knew that was what Steve was going to say. And suddenly, Tony sees beyond the warrior teenager and behind the easy going persona. Tony saw a battle-hardened kid. Tony saw kid who probably hadn't even had a real childhood, and if he did, it had been a short one. He saw a kid who had seen far too much, experienced far too much for someone of his age should have. Tony knew he was powerful. He knew he was probably great in battle.

But Tony also finds himself seeing something more.

He sees a kid who still believes good things can happen, too. Someone who still believes in hope. Someone who still shows kindness to people even after all he's been through. And if that isn't one the most amazing and encouraging things Tony's ever seen, then Tony doesn't know what anymore.

Tony kind of feels like he should be doing more all of a sudden. Look at this kid. After all he's been through, he's still like this. It makes Tony want to be better than he is, and that's definitely more than any stupid motivational seminar or a shrink could ever give him.

Percy clears his throat. "Well, it's been nice talking to you, but I should probably go. My mom gets worried if I'm too late."

Tony finds himself nodding. "Yeah, sure kid. You know, you're an interesting character. I have to say it's been cool stalking you and talking to you. You've exploded a lot of stuff."

Percy laughs. "Yeah, well. I'll probably keep exploding things until the day I die. It's one of those things I progressively do."

Bruce smiles. "I don't think you're the only one, kid."

Thor beams widely again. "It was nice talking to you, Perseus. You have but to call out if you are in dire need of help, and I will try to assist you in any way I can," he tells him seriously.

"Well, I hope it won't come down to that, but thanks." Percy grins. "See you guys!" He waves at them as he walks away.

Tony and the others wave back. At the last second, Percy turns back quickly and shoots the team another grin. "Oh, and my friends call me Percy." He turns around quickly and walks away.

Tony faces the others and grins. "See? That was awesome. It's a good thing we didn't plan it or anything."

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, so he was a pretty good kid. We can talk more while we're eating."

Clint frowns. "You didn't eat before we came?"

"I didn't have any time," Natasha scowls.

Tony quickly steps in at that. Natasha can be pretty vicious when she's hungry.

"Schwarma?" he asks.

Thor is still smiling happily from finally getting to meet his kid-hero or whatever, but at this he manages to smile even wider. "I think that this schwarma will be appropriate for the late afternoon."

"Schwarma it is," Steve says.

"Now let's get out of here before someone notices the Avengers stalking young teenagers," Bruce mutters.

"Yeah, yeah," Tony says. He starts to walk in the opposite direction to that schwarma food joint they all love, and somehow, he knows that he won't ever forget that strange kid Percy Jackson.

And for some reason, he thinks that he'll definitely meet Percy Jackson again.

**A/N: And that's the end! I hope you liked it. Thanks again mythologyrox for letting me take my time with this one! Let me know what you thought.**


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